Platform cover turning machine



S p 1954 c. J. 'r. JOHNSON EI'AL 2,688,145

PLATFORM COVER TURNING ucnmz 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 11, 1951 Charles J Z'Johnsm Frank R- Sms'fh S p 7, 1954 c. J. T. JOHNSON EI'AL 8,

PLATFORM COVER TURNING MACHINE Filed July 11, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V Inventors. CYaarles J. T Johnson Frank R. Jmz fh Patented Sept. 7, 1954 PLATFORM COVER TURNING MACHINE Charles John Thomas Johnson and Frank Richard Smith, Leicester, England, assignors United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. .L, a corporation of New Jersey Application July 11, 1951, Serial No. 236,118

Claims priority, application Great Britain August 5, 1950 Claims.

This invention relates to platform cover turning machines and it is herein disclosed as embodied in a platform cover turning machine having a plunger for moving the shoe. Machines of this type are illustrated and described in U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,429,276, granted on October 21, 1947, in the name of Eugene J. Ray, and also in U. S. Letters Patent Nos. 2,422,737 and 2,448,- 102, granted on June 24, 1947 and August 31, 1948, respectively, both in the name of Robert H. Law son. The illustrated machine, like the machines disclosed in the patent to Ray above mentioned and also in U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,480,962, granted on September 6, 1949, in the name of Walter W. Prue, is provided with gripping means for holding the platform cover while the shoe is being moved.

The present invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of the same, selected for purposes of illustration; and the said invention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an illustrative ma chine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view looking in the direction of the arrow II on Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view, looking in the direction of the arrow III on Fig. 1, of the work-engaging instrumentalities of the illustrative machine;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line IV--IV of Fig. 3; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views indicating two stages in the operation performed by the machine.

The machine illustrated herein has a supporting structure or frame which comprises a casting including side portions 3 which are connected by front and rear bridge portions 5 and 1 respectively as best shown in Fig. 2. Slidably mounted in aligned bores in the bridge portions 5 and 1 is a stem 9 of a plunger comprising also a shoe bottom engaging member II at the forward end of the stem. The member consists of a block in the form of an inverted U corresponding ap proximately to the outline of a toe or heel end of a shoe bottom. The stem 9 extends rearwardly with a somewhat downward inclination from its junction with the member I. The plunger 9, H is held against rotation by a pair of ears extending up from an arm i5 and slidingly engaging a pair of flat surfaces l3 formed upon the rear portion of the stem 9. The arm is is one member of a bell crank having another arm I1, and the bell crank comprising these arms is fulcrumed upon a pin l9 journaled in bearings formed in the side portions 3 of the casting.

The illustrative machine is provided with three grippers, namely an upper central gripper having a movable jaw 2| and a pair of side grippers disposed on opposite sides of and below the level of the central gripper and having movable jaws 23. All three grippers have stationary jaws 25 comprising serrated portions of a block 21 rigidly secured to the front bridge portion 5 of the frame casting, the block having formed in it a recess 29 of inverted U-shape which is normally occupied by the member l.

The movable central jaw 2| has a smooth workengaging face and is formed upon the forward end of a relatively narrow and slender forwardly extending portion of an arm 3| secured to a shaft 33 journaled in bearings formed in the frame casting i. The side jaws 23 also have smooth work-engaging faces and are formed upon slender forwardly extending portions of levers 35 having rearwardly extending arms 31. The levers 35, 31 are secured to pins 39 journaled in bearings formed in the frame casting The rearwardly extending lever arms 37 are pivotally connected by pins 5! to toggle link 53 which are connected, by pins 45, to a block 41. This block 41 is slidably mounted on a sleeve 19 which is itself slidably mounted upon the mid-portion of the stem 9. A compression spring 5| surrounding the sleeve 49 is interposed between a rear face of the block 41 and a head 53 secured to the rear portion of the sleeve. The spring 5| normally holds the block i! yieldingly forward against a nut 55 which is threaded upon the forward end portion of the sleeve .9 and held in place by a lock nut 51. A tension spring 55 has its forward end secured to a pin 6| upstanding from the head 53 and its rear end secured to a pin 53 upstanding from the bridge portion 1 of the frame casting. The spring 59 normally holds the sleeve 49 and with it the block 4'! in a rearward position on the rod 5 which position is determined by the engagement of tails 55 on the links 53 with the arms 31, thereby holding the side grippers in normal open position. The engagement of the tails 55 with the arms 3i prevents the toggles comprising the links 43 and the arms 3'! from straightening completely under the influence of the spring 59.

Extending transversely from the arm 3| of the central gripper jaw 2| are a pair of coaxial pins 51 to which are pivotally connected the upper end portions of a pair of links 69. Formed in the lower end portions of the links 69 are longitudinal slots H which are engaged by coaxial pins 13 extending transversely from the arm I! of the bell crank lever I5, I! above referred to. Tension springs 75 stretched between the pins 67 and 13 normally maintain the pins 53 at the upper ends of the slots H. Pivotally connected to the forward end of the bell crank arm I! is the upper end of a treadle rod 11. Depression of a treadle (not shown) swings the bell crank lever I5, I! counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 1. A spring 19 having its upper end anchored in the base of the frame casting and its lower end (not shown) connected to the treadle rod 1! normally holds the treadle up in a stopped position determined by the engagement of the bell crank arm I I with a portion of the casting The gripper jaw 2| is thus normally held up in open position.

When the treadle rod is in its normal raised position the bell crank arm l occupies its most rearward position with the ears upon its end portion out of engagement with the head 53 of the sleeve 49. During the first portion of the downward movement of the treadle the spring yieldingly draws the arm 3| and the central gripper jaw down to close the central gripper jaw 2|. When the central gripper jaw is stopped in its downward movement by engagement with the work which is held against the stationary jaw 25, the pins I3 move idly down the slots 7| while the work is held yieldingly by the tension of the springs 15. After the central gripper has thus been closed, further counterclockwise movement of the bell crank lever 5, l1 resulting from continued depression of the treadle causes the ears of the arm l5 to engage the head 53 on the sleeve 49 and thereby to move the sleeve forward on the rod 9. The block 4'! is thus moved forward yieldingly by a thrust transmitted through the compression spring 5| to close the jaws 23 of the side grippers. When further forward movement of the block 4! is arrested by the closing of the side grippers upon the work, the spring 5| yields as the sleeve 49 continues its forward movement. Still further depression of the treadle causes the forward end of the sleeve 49 to engage a collar 8| adjustably secured upon the rod 9 and thereupon continued downward movement of the treadle urges the plunger 9, forward with the member I thrusting against the shoe bottom. Now, when the treadle is released, a tension spring 83, having its rear end anchored to a pin 81 which extends across the side portions 3 of the frame casting and its for ward end connected to a pin 85 extending down from the member serves to return the plunger 9, I to its initial or rearward position as determined by the engagement of a rear face of the member II with a forward face 89 in the recess 29 of the block 21.

In using the illustrated machine the operator will turn the platform cover first at one end of the shoe and then at the other end. Fig. 5 shows the position of a shoe S having a platform cover C the toe end of which is being presented to the machine and Fig. 6 shows the toe end of the same shoe at the completion of the turning operation. In presenting the platform cover to the machine as shown in Fig. 5, the operator holds the shoe toe end down with the bottom of the shoe toward him and he enters the marginal portion of the platform cover at the end of the shoe between the movable jaw 2| and the cooperating stationary jaw with about a quarter of an inch of the marginal portion of the platform cover in position to be gripped between the jaws. As shown in Figs. 1 and 6, the forward end of the jaw 2| is rounded to facilitate its entry between the platform cover and the upper of the shoe or the last. If the platform cover hugs the upper or the last so tightly as to render entry of the jaw 2| at the end of the shoe difficult, the operator will so present the shoe as to cause the jaw to enter on a side of the shoe adjacent to the end, where the cover fits more loosely, and he will then move the shoe, sliding it relatively to the jaw until the platform cover at the end of the shoe is engaged by the jaw. Then with his thumbs engaging the free margin of the platform cover at the sides of the end portion of the shoe and the tips of his index fingers conveniently engaging the platform cover in regions at opposite sides of the movable jaw 2|, the operator will depress the treadle sufficiently to cause the jaw 2| to move toward the associated fixed jaw 25 (the operator moving the shoe down slightly if necessary) to cause the cover to be gripped by the jaw 2| but insufficiently to cause the side gripper jaws 23 to close. He will then swing the shoe forward and down through about (also moving the shoe somewhat forward if necessary) so as to turn the platform cover at the end of the shoe, the action being facilitated by the operator thumbing portions of the platform cover down at each side of the end portion of the shoe. In this way the turning of the platform cover is effected by a peeling action. Now with the heel end of the shoe pointing down the operator causes the side portions of the margin of the platform cover to enter between the side jaws 23 and their associated stationary jaws 25. Further depression of the treadle closes the side jaws 23. The platform cover is now gripped at the end of the shoe and also at two localities on the sides of the shoe adjacent to the end. Still further depression of the treadle causes the plunger member H to engage the shoe bottom and to thrust the shoe forward while the three grippers hold the margin of the platform cover to complete the turning of the platform cover and also to tension it The degree of tension is determined by the force exerted by the operator on the treadle and is therefore fully under his control. It will be evident that the operator has a clear view of the portions of the platform cover being tensioned and that he may readily observe the results of the tensioning action. The operator is able through the treadle to sense with his foot the added reaction when the jaw 2| closes on the work and he can thus readily determine when he has depressed the treadle far enough merely to close the upper gripper. Some operators may prefer to depress the treadle sufficiently to cause all three grippers to close initially and then to release the treadle and take a fresh purchase with the three grippers after the turning of the cover has been effected for the tensioning of the platform cover.

After the platform cover has been turned at the toe end of the shoe, as described above, a similar operation is performed at the heel end.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a platform cover turning machine, a gripper for gripping the margin of a platform cover at an end of a shoe, means for closing said end gripper, a pair of grippers for gripping the margin of the platform cover at opposite sides of the shoe adjacent to said end gripper, a plunger engageable with the shoe bottom and having a guided stem, a sleeve slidable on the stem, a resilient connection between the sleeve and the side grippers for closing the side grippers upon movement of the sleeve along the stem, a treadle mechanism for thus moving the sleeve to close the side grippers, and means engageable by the sleeve upon further movement of the treadle mechanism for thrusting the plunger against the shoe bottom while the platform cover is held by all three grippers, thereby causing the platform cover to be turned.

2. In a platform cover turning machine, means for gripping the margin of a platform cover, a plunger engageable with the shoe bottom, said plunger having a guided stem, a sleeve slidable on the stem of the plunger, a connection between the gripping means and the sleeve whereby movement of the sleeve along the stem of the plunger closes the gripping means, a collar on the stem, and operating connections constructed and arranged first to move the sleeve along the stem to close the gripping means and then by engagement of the sleeve with the collar to thrust the plunger against the shoe bottom.

3. In a platform cover turning machine, a gripper engageable with the margin of a platform cover of a shoe at an end of the shoe, a pair of grippers adjacent to said end gripper and engageable with the margin of the platform cover at the sides of the shoe, a plunger engageable with the bottom of the shoe, a treadle operated power applying member, a resilient connection between the end gripper and the power applya ing member for yieldingly closing the end gripper upon initial movement of the power applying member, mechanism having a lost motion engagement with the power applying member for yieldingly closing the side grippers upon further movement of the power applying member after the end gripper has been closed, and mechanism having a lost motion engagement with said side gripper closing mechanism for advancing the plunger against the shoe bottom upon still further movement of the power applying member while the platform cover is held by all three grippers to cause the platform cover at that end of the shoe to be turned and tensioned.

4. In a platform cover turning machine, a gripper arranged to receive the upstanding marginal portion of an unturned platform cover of a shoe, said gripper having a pair of jaws of which one is movable to closing position relatively to the other, a pivotal support about which said movable jaw performs its operative movements, a plunger engageable with the shoe bottom and having a guided stem, a sleeve slidable upon said stem, a link pivotally connected at one end to side movable jaw and as its other end to said sleeve, a collar on said stern engageable by said sleeve, and means engageable with said sleeve first to slide the sleeve along the stem to close the movable gripper jaw on the cover and then, after the operator has reversed the shoe to bend the gripped portion of the cover down with respect to the shoe, to continue to slide the sleeve along the stem to cause the sleeve to thrust against the collar and thereby thrust the plunger against the shoe bottom to move the shoe and thereby complete the turning of the platform cover.

5. In a platform cover turning machine, a gripper for gripping the margin of a platform cover at an end of a shoe, a pair of grippers for gripping the margin of the platform cover at opposite sides of the shoe adjacent to said end gripper, each of said grippers having a movable jaw and a stationary jaw, a block upon which all said three stationary jaws are formed, said block having formed in it a recess of inverted U- shape, a plunger normally within the recess, means for closing the grippers to cause them to hold the margin of the platform cover, and means for advancing the plunger to cause the plunger to thrust against the bottom of the shoe while the margin of the platform cover is held by the grippers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 942,155 Walther Dec. '7, 1909 1,068,842 Bayard July 29, 1913 1,289,632 Brothers Dec. 31, 1918 

